Track Releases Indoor Schedule

11/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field

Nov. 3, 2009

HOUSTON - The University of Houston men's team is coming off a banner year in which they won the Conference USA Championships during the indoor and outdoor competitions. The women look to improve upon their strong showing of second at the indoor and fourth at the outdoor competitions.

Houston will host four indoor meets, highlighted by hosting the C-USA Championships for the 11th time. Three other collegiate meets will take place in Yeoman Fieldhouse including the Leonard Hilton Memorial, the Houston Indoor Open and the UH All-Comers Meet.

Houston opens the season Dec.16 with the Texas A&M Opener at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas. The newly opened track is one of the fastest in the nation and was the host of the 2009 NCAA Championships. The Cougars will have a tough challenge, as the Aggies are a very accomplished indoor track program. The Aggie women won the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championship while the men finished in seventh place.

The Cougars return home for the Leonard Hilton Memorial where they will face 13 teams. Both the men and women finished third last year while rival Rice swept the competition.

The Cougars will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., for the second annual New Mexico Cherry and Silver Invitational on Jan. 23. Chris Carter won the long jump last year and set a NCAA provisional mark by leaping 15.89 meters.

UH hosts the Houston Indoor Opener on Jan. 29 and 30. Three Cougar sprinters - Christie Jones, Kalyn Floyd and Grecia Bolton - all set new personal records in the 60-meter dash last year as Jones went on to set a NCAA provisional mark with her first place time of 7:40. Floyd teamed up with Quin'shundolyn McPherson, Whitney Harris and Ciera Johnson to win the 4X400 meter relay despite dropping the baton on the second exchange. The men were also the first place finishers in the 4X400 relay.

The Cougars will then travel to New York, N.Y., for the New Balance Invitational hosted at the Armory Track. This prestigious national event invites teams from all over the country to compete. Last year, there were ten teams that finished in the top 25 in both the men's and women's final polls who participated in this event. Similar stout competition is expected this year on Feb. 5 and 6.

Houston will return to College Station once again for the A&M Invitational on Feb. 11 and 12. The Cougars will only have four days off between the two meets.

The last meet of the season at Yeoman Fieldhouse will be the C-USA Indoor Championships. The Cougar men's track and field team is the three-time defending C-USA Champions and have won the C-USA championship six of the last seven years.

Three athletes won their individual competitions. D'Korian Ford won the high jump with a mark of 1.99 meters and was awarded the C-USA Freshman of the Year for his performances. Ed Turner won the long jump with a NCAA provisional mark of 7.56. Along with Lamar Delaney, Isaiah Sweeney and Chris Carter, the Cougars took home four of the top-six places in the event. Morgan Floyd won the heptathlon by finishing in the top three of all seven events.

The women finished in second place at the 2009 C-USA Indoor Championships. Three individual athletes took home gold medals in their events while the 4X400 meter relay also won first place.

Seun Adigun continued to exert her dominance over the field of hurdlers in champions, as she became the first three-time 60m hurdle champion in the history of the event.

Kalyn Floyd won her first collegiate championship in the 200 meters with a time of 24:30. Quin'shundolyn McPherson won the long jump with a distance of 5.99 meters. McPhereson and Floyd teamed up with Ciera Johnson and Whitney Harris to capture the 4X400 meter relay championship.

Between the C-USA Championships and the NCAA Championships, Iowa State will once again host a late qualifying match to help any unqualified or provisionally qualified athletes to better their chances to qualify for the NCAA Championships. This event will take place March 5 and 6 in Ames, Iowa.

The following week, the University of Arkansas will host the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville. Seun Adigun was the Cougars lone representative at the meet last year.